Have a Wonderful Spring Break ...

Here are a few things for your consideration. Have a great and restful, relaxing break.

Literacy 2.0

The theme of the current issue of ASCD's Educational Leadership journal (March 2009; 66:6) is Literacy 2.0; it is available online FREE (as well as by article in EBSCO) and is worth your reading time. This valuable journal link providing FREE access to feature articles in this and older issues of EL came as a surprise to me but I am marking it as a personal favourite. If you feel the need to get up to speed (or to refresh your thinking on the "new" or "multi" literacies), this set of readings will both inform and inspire you. I particularly liked the article by Howard and Davies on plagiarism.

Recently, The Bookmark, our BCTLA publication, began to make its editions available FREE online. Access to the articles used to be a right or benefit of membership and one paid up one's dues expectantly and waited patiently for the fat little volume to arrive. But increasingly, in the Web 2.0 world, as the information is made available, the benefits of sharing knowledge are experienced in other ways. For example, we have found that the growing readership and newly focussed content has drawn new interest amongst those writing in the field, hence, different contributors, a wider range of contributors broadening the new and current threads of discourse, shared and sharing interests, a community growing, and more.

Shifting grounds ... nothing can be counted on to be the same! Lifelong learning for all! Lots to read, but you can rest after you have a little time to read and to ponder everything, including what is next:

Library in the Clouds

When you are thinking about Web 2.0 and trying to imagine how it quite probably is going to have an impact on school library programs, it's good to have some indicators of direction and some sense that others are looking there.

From North Vancouver comes the blog of TL "Bookminder" or Lesley Edwards (aka The WebFooted Booklady); I have now added this link to Related Bloggers in the lefthand sidebar of my weekly TL Special blog. Valenza's post for today (March 14, 2009) is entitled Library in the Clouds and is prompted by a Twitter from US Library Media Specialist Joyce Valenza, notably a regular contributor to School Library Journal and chatelaine of the Springfield Township Virtual School Library.

Valenza, in her Twitter, directs readers to a new school library blog entitled The Unquiet Library. You can check out the noisy space at this site ... but what makes it particularly "unquiet" is that it has been catapaulted into the ether using a technique called "cloud computing." What is "cloudy" is the presence of The Unquiet as a wiki, on del.icio.us, on a blog, on Pageflakes, Facebook, Twitter, and so on.

Click here for The Unquiet's shot of fortitude inspired by Dr David Lankes of Syracuse U, hopefully a shot that will inspire you despite dark times! Unquiet puts forth the rallying cry in her blog that, despite the effects of the economy, of No Child Left Behind, of teachers and others who don't get what we do, of the worrying that educational change is simply too slow to keep pace with our students, here in Canada as much as in the US, it is important not to give up but to carry on in your school library program. Says blogger/TL Buffy Hamilton, "While I may personally feel discouraged at times, I never lose my inspiration or passion for what I do. If I suffer a setback, I dig in that much harder and continue my efforts as an agent of change in my school and community." Don't miss out on the youtube clip either: 40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes.

Lesley also pinpoints an article, written as a response to those in direction-seeking mode, by Jeffrey Hastings from School Library Journal (March 1, 2009) that has LOTS to say to us here in Vancouver. Don’t Worry, Be Scrappy: Good, Cheap Tech for Schools, Cloud Computing and More: It’s the perfect time to try cheap new technologies


UNESCO Posters on Indigenous Knowledge

Download all seven Posters on Indigenous Knowledge in pdf format. These posters introduce important concepts and issues about knowledge in indigenous societies today. They are illustrated with case studies and images from around the world. The posters serve as a learning resource that strengthens awareness of opportunities and challenges facing indigenous knowledge holders. They may be used in a variety of educational settings within schools or the community. They are available in English and French, as well as other languages.

Book Review: Why The Book of Negroes Matters
By Donna Bailey Nurse, from Endpapers, The Globe and Mail (F16, 14/03/2009)

Nurse's analysis of Hill's tale of Aminata Diallo suggests he draws upon the traditional slave- narrative genre, of which tales such as Toni Morrison's Beloved are examples, and upon the 19th century or Victorian-era novel genre best exemplifed by writers like Dickens whose twists of plot and character take complex social issues and create the rollicking world of the "urchins" to seduce and keep readers spell-bound. Concludes black critic Nurse, frequent contributor to the GlobeBooks Review,

Today, the geography of Aminata's life remains eerily familiar, a restless route that keeps many black people travelling in circles in search of home. The best black Canadian writing articulates a diasporic experience arising from the cultural collisions of the Atlantic slave trade. And nobody does this better than Lawrence Hill.

You are Invited:

The LOMCIRA Annual General Meeting

“Rethinking Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Learning in an Online World”

This invitation comes from Meredyth Kezar, who writes: Dr Donald Leu (board member, IRA; co-director, New Literacies Research Lab, U of Connecticut) spoke recently at the BCLCIRA meeting in Vancouver in February. [See this blog, February 12, 2009.] If you missed this event and/or would like to learn more then you might like to attend the upcoming LOMCIRA AGM. To be held in the library of the new “green” Charles Dickens Elementary School, 1010 E 17th Avenue, Vancouver, near Fraser and Kingsway, on Thursday, April 23, 2009, the event runs from 4 to 6 pm, includes a tour of the school, and may be followed by a dining-out experience.

If you are not a member of LOMCIRA, visit the LOMCIRA website for more info. The cost of this event for non-members is $5, payable at the door. Register with Meredyth until April 17.

Again, have a great break. We will need you back refreshed and recharged.

A Break on the Horizon

News to report this week:

Collaboration in the Library

Last week I told you about the BCTF workshop offered by our Vancouver TLs Janet, Katharine, and Michele. This week I have added their blog into the "Related Bloggers" section of the sidebar. See blog Collaboration in the Library. New TLs, this is worth your time.


UBC Infolit Project

The long-time project in which retired and practicing TLs work with elementary and primary teacher-candidates in the UBC Education program is happening now. Recently Gwen showed UBC instructors and others supporting the students how to integrate the database and electronic resources with their information literacy lessons. This week Michele and I worked with the project, alongside retirees like Sharon, Vi, Bev, Carolynn, and more, to build understandings about inquiry, resource-based learning, and the collaborative capacity of TLs.

The Bookmark

The Winter 2009 issue of The Bookmark is online now. As usual, it is a remarkable piece of work that is drawing attention for its quality and innovative format. Editors and Okanagan TLs Angie MacRitchie and Al Smith are hard-working, active, and fun members of our BCTLA Executive; we are really proud of them both. By the way, rumour has it that some members of the BCTLA Executive are saving to go to Padua for the IASL Conference at the end of the summer; there are similar rumours that more than one Vancouver TL will be there too!

In this issue find articles by Marlene Asselin, Ray Doiron, Jennifer Branch, Diane Oberg, and Margriet Ruurs, as well as the regular contributions of Greg Smith, John Goldsmith, Stew Savard, Carolyn Cutt, and Pat Parker.


The Lieutenant Governor's Literacy Program

Each month, The Honourable Steven Point posts four pictures and invites students, children, and young adults to write stories for the pictures, stories he personally will read. Wouldn't this be a wonderful opportunity for further development with digital storytelling or more of what we saw with Dr Jason Ohler?

Literacy 2.0

The March issue of Educational Leadership features the theme of "Literacy 2.0" and Dr Jason Ohler as the lead contributor with his article "Orchestrating the Media Collage" (EL March 2009). In her introduction to the issue, Marge Scherer summarizes the content as articles that will examine "what this new 2.0 literacy entails; how it differs from, yet relies on, the skills of traditional literacy; which new possibilities and challenges it raises — including how to counsel the multitasking student and how to foster the endangered capacity to read deeply; and finally, where and how literacy 2.0 should fit in K-12 curriculum and instruction."

If you missed the opportunity to hear Jason Ohler, the link to the EL article I sent out would provide an opportunity to read about what we learned and what everyone is talking about. Don't forget that EL is included in the EBSCO database package so you can search for this and other articles.

Many people who attended Technology Day at Magee with Dr Ohler have requested copies of his recent book so we will be looking at taking and placing a bulk order. Information will follow shortly, but you as the TL might want to share your resource expertise -- check who in your school would like to own a copy and where the funds can be found to put one into the school's professional collection. How many copies for your school, then?

Digital Storytelling in the Classroom:
New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity.
2008. Corwin Press.
ISBN: 9781412938501

CWILL and Planning for Author Visits

Mark at Cunningham reminds us that the very best place to find an author or illustrator for school library visits is the website for Canadian Writers and Illustrators BC (CWILLBC). We have so much local and easily accessibly talent here in Vancouver.

• Mark recommends former Vancouver teacher and award-winning children's author Robert Heidbreder for annex and elementary audiences.
  


• I can also recommend my neighbour Glen Huser, by the way, who is a former TL and TL Consultant from Edmonton as well as an GG award-winning author for his book Stitches.
  


• Melanie Jackson, local author and fellow denizen of the VSB here, is nominated for a Chocolate Lily award this year for her book Shadows on the Train.
  


• And don't forget Nancy Hundal, our very own practicing TL and children's author, whose tenth book -- a first chapter book, in fact -- is due in April.
  


• Did you hear Tiffany Poirier from Brock at Winter Tonic this year? If so, you will remember that her first book Q is for Question is due soon too.
  


• And Vi Hughes has another one coming soon too.

Great Resources -

Webspiration and Graphic Novels

Our new membership in the IASL has been worthwhile. The following info comes via IASL-Link's Gerald Brown from Winnipeg and retired consultant for Pembina Margaret Stimson:

• Did you know that the New York Times has added a new best seller list to the collection? It's the New York Times Graphic Books Bestsellers list. Librarian Joshua Carlson believes graphic novels are important for all libraries. Graphic novels have become important in our school library collections but there are still many obstacles to general acceptance this is an important format for engaging young readers. This bestseller list adds support. They are both worthwhile and worthy of recognition.



• Webspiration? It's the public beta version of Inspiration, software created for your use FREE by the same company. "Use Webspiration's diagramming environment to create bubble diagrams, flowcharts, concept maps, process flows and other visual representations that stimulate and reflect your thinking."

WebWord and Netbooks, Reviewed

From Online Edition of Costco Connection and high-tech reporter Marc Saltzman: check page 13 of the March/April 2009 edition for his "latest" on the little laptops (called "netbooks") you may be seeing around and for this valuable tool:

• WordWeb: this is a FREE downloadable dictionary and thesaurus that, if you hold down the CTRL key and right-click on any word, activates a pop-up window with the definition, synonyms, antonyms, as well as links to other sites such as Wikipedia. It can be used offline as well. It takes up 7.4 mb and has more than 150 000 root words and 120 000 synonyms. It is available in "Canadian" English.
  
• Of the new Netbooks, Saltzman says they are one of today's hottest tech tools (although I am still thinking I need a video camera like Alan Z's Vado) ... So, for cost-savings, netbooks often use Linux open-source operating systems, as opposed to Windows. The small keyboard is ideal for kids (and the lightweight affordability makes them ideal for geo-caching, I am told). They have small storage capacity and do not have the gaming or video capacity of laptops. But they are perfect for email, word processing, and checking the internet. At under $400 each, might these be the solution to some of our technology needs?

Obama cares about libraries:

"At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better. It's an enormous force for good."

Barack Obama, keynote speech

American Library Association Conference, 2005

Celebrate Canadian Children's Book Week!

Check the CCBC website for resources that encourage, promote and support the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. Programs, publications, and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents selet good books for young readers. Click here for resources for use in schools or at home. Shall we order the CCBC publication Best Books for Kids and Teens: Annual, 2008 ($5.95)? This guide contains over 425 recommended books for kids and teens ages 0-18 deemed the very best books Canada has to offer by expert committees of educators, booksellers, school and public librarians from across Canada, so every book included in the guide is guaranteed to be a great read!


Considering an author visit to extend the "book celebrations"? Check the list of local authors at CWILLBC (Children's Writers and Illustrators of BC) -- under H, you will find our Nancy Hundal, author of nine picture books and soon to publish her first chapter book, and Glen Huser, my neighbour and Governor-General Award winning author of Stitches and more.

More Professional and Practical Resources

Journey back in time with The Vancouver Sun . On Wednesday Nov 19th check the feature "An Immigrant's Journey: 150 years of Newcomers to B.C." and join in celebrating BC’s birthday by engaging your students with articles, photos and video from the past 150 years.

Have you checked out the Newspaper Resources on our Databases page of the Webcat, yet? These are worth sharing with your teacher colleagues.

__________

Ministry-provided BC150 Resources are available online -- website BC Education: The Story of the One-Room Schoolhouse; Far West: The Story of British Columbia Teacher's Guide (pdf) and text; The Rush to BC: A Social Studies Resource Teacher's Guide and Student Activities; BC History in Action: A Guide to Teaching History through Drama (pdf) K-7 and 8-12.

Shall we Bulk Buy?

Vancouver: Stories of a City, by Lisa Smedman, published by The Courier. $47.20, or multiple book order deal available. More than 300 pages with historic photos, maps, and illustrations of the history of our city, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

New Resource for Teaching Research in the Digital Age

Meredyth, ever watchful for resources that work in school libraries to promote the multiliteracies, including information literacy, brought this to my attention. I hope to have a copy for preview by Monday; Meredyth's disappeared before I could grab it. My reviewing question will be, Would this make a nice Christmas gift for school libraries? Being a huge fan of Toronto-based Koechlin and Zwaan (who often work with American school library researcher at San Jose State, David Loertscher), I can't help but think so, but I would like to check that it works for all grades first. You can check this new publication description (from Pembroke Publishing online catalogue):

BUILDING INFO SMARTS: How to work with all kinds of information and make it your own by Carol Koechlin & Sandi Zwaan.(Pages: 32 ISBN: 9781551382265 Price: $ 12.95). The online catalogue describes this as an "innovative flip book [that] shows students how to identify their learning style as they build important information literacy skills. The book explores strategies learners need to be successful when working with digital media, as well as global and more traditional literacies. Students will investigate effective strategies for finding and using all kinds of information and making it their own from reading books and analyzing a movie to working on a research project. As they work with data that they gather, students are encouraged to build personal understanding so their projects reflect original thought. The book is committed to nurturing confident learners who go beyond mere retelling of information and focus on a deeper understanding of the information they experience."

__________

"How Canada Came to Be" CD from Rhonda Draper, SD#23 Kelowna, Governor General's Teaching Award winner for the Teaching of Canadian History. This CD, the story of our country through song and oratory, includes 14 folk songs representing the many regions and eras of Canada's history. You can order this for $20.00, including tax; S/H, add $7.00. As well, a teacher's resource package ordered for $15. Rhonda is a music specialist, children's performer, and recording artist. Order directly: rdraper@sd23.bc.ca. Might your social studies teachers be interested in this? Suitable for grades 3-6 and younger children like the songs.

__________

Evaluating, Selecting, and Managing Resources: A Guide (revised 2008) replaces the previous version (last revised in 2002) and has been specifically revised to include the role of ERAC in evaluating resources for districts. This document articulates the current criteria for resource selection in schools, the role of teacher-librarians as site-based resource experts, and the role of the centralized media and library services and personnel in district resource management processes. It's long and full of forms but it would be well worth your while to review it yourself and to make an appointment to review this with your administrator and staff (but do make a point to see pages 61, 62, and Appendix 10).

__________

Interesting Readings:

Edutopia article: Google for Educators -- The Best Features for Busy Educators by Sara Ring

Educational Leadership (Nov 2008) article: Footprints in the Digital Age by Will Richardson

__________

The Latest From The Critical Thinking Consortium:

Interested in a repertoire of thinking concepts and strategies to improve the ability of students Grades 5 to 10 to think critically about a variety of topics? Download the inaugural issue of "Tools for Thought" from TC Squared. Let me know what you think. Is this something your school might be interested in purchasing?

__________

2009 Canada-Wide Virtual Science Fair: Connecting Scientific Minds from Coast to Coast. Here you will find an annual online science and technology contest open to all Canadian students in grades K-12. This year there will be special awards for Going Green. Share this with the keenest science teachers in your schools.

___________

Find the right video for what you are planning to teach on The Futures Channel: Connecting Learning to the Real World. It's free videostreaming and it's worth looking through their collection.

__________

ALA's Great Websites for Kids: The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, has added Web sites this fall to Great Web Sites for Kids, its online resource containing hundreds of links to commendable Web sites for children. "Sites must stand up to an evaluation and voting process by the committee before being deemed ‘great’ and added to the GWS page.”

__________

VPL Events of Interest:

• Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Branch, 7:30 to 9:00 pm, November 20: Stephen Hume presents his book, Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia. Journalist and poet Hume followed in Fraser's footsteps and canoe wake for four years.
  
• Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Branch, 7:00 to 9:00 pm, December 12: City Reflections: 1907 - Vancouver - 2007: Join the Vancouver Historical Society in viewing Vancouver's earliest surviving film, taken from a moving streetcar in 1907. The film has now been replicated 100 years later. The viewing will be followed by a question and answer session.

Kidsbooks Event Features Adrienne Gear

There is a group of TLs going to Adrienne's Book Launch at Kidsbooks on Broadway, Monday, November 17, 7 - 9 pm. Why not come along for the event.

_________

The Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada have announced the 2008 INFORMATION BOOK AWARD for excellence in Canadian non-fiction aimed at informing, inspiring and connecting young readers from coast to coast. The 2008 Information Book Award of $1000 will be presented on February 28, 2009, at the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Serendipity Conference.


WINNER: One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss, illustrated by Rosemary Woods (Kids Can Press)

HONOUR BOOK: Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose: The Story of a Painting by Hugh Brewster, paintings by John Singer Sargent (Kids Can Press)